The Greatest Catch

Chapter 1

The smell of fresh manicured grass wafted up the cement steps of the stadium along with the bitter chill of the whispering March wind.

Alana hugged the stack of paperwork smushed in her arms closer to her chest fighting off the cold with a shiver. Tonight was the final night to prepare Citizens Bank Park for the opening day of the season. In less than twenty-four hours this stadium would be filled with over 40,000 spectators ready to cheer on their favorite Major League Baseball team; the Philadelphia Phillies.

Fatigue from the last weeks worth of overnights to get the stadium into shape began to set in and she was craving a very large cup of coffee. So much to do, so little time.

Never in a million years had she imagined that taking this overnight housekeeping manager position would be so stressful but when there's over one hundred employees that she had to oversee it can become a lot to handle.

Mostly, Alana was in charge of directing and overseeing the grounds, maintenance, and housekeeping crews and would be there with them after every game or event held at the stadium.

Everything for tomorrow's opening game needed to be in perfect shape. Wether it was the bright green turf, the bathrooms, or even the Phillies uniforms needed to be in pristine condition.

Digging her fingers threw her pocket she fished out her employee key card and walked towards a large heavy looking door that was labeled "Restricted Access". Swiping the key card down the lock, Alana hear the door click open. She pushed open the heavy door and walked down a long hallway filled with offices and rooms for the players.

Finally, her large office door came into view and she opened it by crouching her tired knees and lowering an elbow on the handle, careful not to lose the mound of paperwork she still clutched in her grasps.

Until Alana had taken this job at the ballpark, never had she ever stepped foot in one before. Her life as a child was rough so her family spending money on frivolous baseball games and overpriced processed hot dogs was not something they did.

Majority of Alana's childhood consisted of watching her wretched mother day drink until she was passed out drunk on the couch by 4pm. At twenty-five years old she can still remember the burning fire of hunger inside her belly, as most nights there was never any food being made and put on the table. Her mother could never wake out of her drunken state to cook a decent meal, and Alana's father was rarely around much to help as well. Roughly ten times out of the year since she would see him because he worked for a traveling painting company. Papa would come home for a day or two and mama would act like everything was OK. Those two days were great. That is until father would get a call from his company and three hours later was up and gone boarding a plane to his next project.

Truth be told, she knew hardly anything about the sport let alone the Phillies team. Alana has been hearing on the news that this years 2019 team would be a hot one but it never really mattered in her mind.

The only things she cared about currently was her schooling, job, and most importantly, her son. During the nights while Alana was at work, Elijah was with the sitter and durning the days when Elijah was at school, so was she.

Moore College of Art & Design was pricy but if it meant a better job after graduation, she vowed to bust her butt now to be abled to pay it back later. She was finally in her fourth year and ready to graduate with a bachelors degree in Photography and Digital Arts and a minor in Graphic Design. The excitement of knowing she'd finally be abled to see her son more made a smile creep it's way to her face. With any luck she can finally provide for Elijah and be his mother. He was most likely sick of eating unhealthy ramen most nights made by the sitter because that was all she could afford with all the odd job paychecks.